Lead-paint Abatement : EPA's new rules have fines, opt-out provision

New federal lead-paint restrictions that affect hundreds of Central New York workers go into effect this week.

On April 22, the Environmental Protection Agency's restrictions, called "Renovate Right: EPA's Lead-based Paint Renovation, Repair and Painting Program," begin. The program mandates that any contractor, carpenter, painter, electrician, plumber, window repairperson or maintenance worker who works on a house built before 1978 follow strict guidelines to minimize lead-paint exposure.

All businesses that work on homes must be certified in the program and face stiff financial penalties for failing the regulations. The program is complicated and involved, but here are some of the main points, according to the EPA:

1) Firms and some of their employees must be certified in lead-safe work practices. Some of those practices include minimizing lead-paint dust and keeping work messes confined to the work area. The certification process includes an eight-hour class and lasts five years.

2) Workers must educate the residents about lead paint, distribute pamphlets about lead paint and post educational signs at work areas.

3) Owner-occupied residents who don't have a child younger than 6 or a pregnant woman on the premises can allow the workers to opt out of the regulations by signing a waiver.

4) Workers must test for lead using EPA-approved kits when it's requested by a resident.

5) Companies must keep records on clients' lead-paint statuses for three years.

6) Companies who fail to comply with the regulations may face penalties of up to $32,500 per violation, per day.

7) These rules do not apply to people who work on their own homes -- only to people who pay someone else to do the work.

These regulations won't drastically effect most home remodelers but will make home remodeling more expensive, said Mary Thompson, executive officer at Home Builders and Remodelers of Central New York.

Most companies, she said, are already practicing safe lead-paint practices. The new regulations, though, come with such stiff penalties that companies may charge more for their work. Also, she said, the cost of getting certified is $300 for a company registration and $150 per employee for training.

The result, she said, will be more "fly-by-night contractors" who will not be certified in lead-paint abatement and who will try to undercut authentic contractors. Therefore, she said, the association is trying to get the word out to consumers to ask their contractors or workers to prove their certification in the EPA's program.

The association, she said, partnered with Environmental Education Associates, a Buffalo company certified to train workers in the EPA's program. So far, she said, they have certified about 400 people.